The present invention relates to a self erecting apparatus adapted for the batch production of asphalt.
Mobile batch plants for the production of asphalt have heretofore been proposed which generally comprise a truck towed main frame and a complete tower hingedly supported on the main frame so that the tower can be selectively shifted from a lowered transport position to an upright operative position. The tower typically comprises an aggregate screen section at the top of the tower, aggregate storage bins below the screen section, a weigh hopper below the storage bins, and a mixer below the weigh hopper. A mobile plant of this general type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,275 to Perry.
While the mobile batch plants of the above type are generally satisfactory for batch plants of modest size and weight, their designs are unsuitable for larger plants by reason of the massive weight of the tower which must be pivotally raised and lowered between the transport and operative positions.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a self erecting batch plant of the described type which may be of significant size and weight, and yet may be readily converted from its lowered transport position to its upright operating position, and then converted back to its lowered position to permit transport to a different job site.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a self erecting batch plant of the described type which may be moved between the transport and upright operating positions without the use of external cranes and the like.